


Wrong Way

by Jess_eklom



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Gen, Introspection, POV Heero Yuy, Songfic, brief mention of other pilots, not your typical songfic, revamp of old fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 11:11:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15242103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jess_eklom/pseuds/Jess_eklom
Summary: Heero's observations of Duo.





	Wrong Way

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic that was originally published in 2004 on FFN. I have revamped it a bit and am throwing it on here as a way of waking up my muses. This is pretty Gen, but if you squint, you can infer shipping if you'd like. 
> 
> Song: The Wrong Way  
> Artist: Creed
> 
> This should go without saying, but since my idea of 'songfic' is slightly different than other writers', the lyrics are actually Heero's thoughts

**The Wrong Way**  

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**  

Heero was busily typing away at his laptop. There was another mission coming in and it was a two-man job. He sighed and looked over to where his partner was reading a manga on his bed, laughing at regular intervals. 

“We have a mission,” Heero said, with no inflection in his voice.  

“Oh?” Duo got up from his bed, his long hair in a messy braid from laying down for an extended period of time, and came behind Heero to read the screen. He placed his forearm on Heero’s shoulder as his eyes scanned over the words on the screen, face hardening a little. 

 

_What makes you touch?_  

 

Duo nodded at the screen, resolved, and began to pack up his things. There wasn’t much to pack, but the manga he’d been reading made its way into the small duffel Duo carried with him, along with the rest of his personal effects.  

_\--------------_  

The mission had gone south and all hell broke loose. Duo had been compromised and it was up to him to tie up loose ends. He’d fought his way through the compound, dispatching the errant guard that was unlucky enough to be in his way before he finally found the cell he was looking for.  

Containment facilities didn’t do much to deter 01, and without too much trouble, he’d broken into the cell he’d been looking for where his quarry awaited. The cell was small and little more than a closet. It stank and it was far too dark. There was no furniture, but a metal toilet in the corner.  

Duo lay on the floor, but didn’t move when he’d come crashing in. He stepped right up to the other pilot and stared down at him, broken and bleeding, tears in his violet eyes as he looked up at Heero’s gun and accepted impending death. 

He should have shot him, but something stopped him from doing so.  

 

_What makes you feel?_  

 

He holstered his firearm and crouched beside Duo, assessing his injuries. “This will hurt,” he said, just before scooping Duo’s body up and running out of the compound. The primary objective had been accomplished. Executing Pilot 02 had not been in his mission parameters.  

_\--------------_  

There was a lull in his orders after that. Other than surveying and keeping tabs on airwave communications, Heero was on standby for the time being. He’d been told to lay low, and with Duo injured, he had an unintended companion. At least for the moment.  

As it happened, Duo’s injuries hadn’t been as severe as they’d first appeared. He did have a cracked rib, but it wasn’t anything they could do much about. His bruises had begun to fade and at least this location was far enough from civilization that they could afford to go outside in the daylight. They were on day 16 of laying low and it was bright and sunny out. 

Heero poured himself a coffee and leaned against the doorframe as he watched as Duo frolic by the pond of their nearest safe house, throwing rocks into the smooth water, picking tiny flowers and braiding them into his hair. 

 

_What makes you stop and smell the roses in an open field?_  

 

Duo apparently could feel Heero's eyes on him because he turned around and waved. Heero snorted and backed away into the cabin. How Duo could just act like a kid, without a care in the world, was beyond him. They were at war.  

_\--------------_  

He watched as Duo recklessly risked the mission to save a fallen Quatre from being smashed by another mobile suit, slashing his way in and getting out with Quatre in tow. For someone who called himself the God of Death, he seemed to possess more empathy than most people.  

 

_What makes you unclean?_  

 

He valued human life, and yet, he took it without a second thought. He was bright and happy but he also had this dark side that he unleashed in battle. He was carefree and encumbered, and a whole slew of other contradictions. Heero realized that he’d never understand Duo. Duo would forever be an enigma. 

 

_Yeah_  

_\-------------_  

Things were dire, the last mission hadn’t gone as well as planned. Wufei was hurt and Trowa had been separated from them but Duo kept his cheerful mask on. He was so optimistic. He reassured Quatre that they'd find Trowa and he helped patch Wufei up with a smile and a quip about not having a dragon's armor.  

The situation was dire, but yet the smile persisted. The joking banter was constant. He kept spirits up when even Quatre was shaken, despite the way the shadows lingered in his eyes.  

 

_What makes you laugh?_  

 

That night, Heero awoke to Duo’s whimpers as he slept fitfully. His thin body was thrashing against the covers, as if he were defending himself from a brutal attack. Twin streaks of silver tears that glistened in the moonlight streamed down Duo’s usually ginning face, leaving Heero confused. 

 

_What makes you cry?_  

 

_\--------------_  

It was ironic that after being retrieved from the remains of his gundam, it was Duo fussing over him and berating him for being foolish enough to attempt to end his life. Some Shinigami. 

 

"What the _fuck,_ Heero?! Who the hell told you you could just give up like that? Was it J? I'll murder that bastard!" Duo was saying as he tended to a gash on Heero's shoulder. "You're more than just a tool, man. You need to live."  

 

_What makes our youth run_  

_From the thought that we might die?_  

 

_\--------------_  

 

Heero dragged Duo’s body back to a secluded safe house. Deathscythe was in really bad shape and Duo was suffering a few broken ribs (again) and a concussion. There was an open injury near his temple which was bleeding profusely, as head wounds tend to do. Heero couldn’t help his thoughts wander as he bandaged his partner up in the darkness of the run-down, old cabin… 

 

_What makes you bleed?_  

 

His hands methodically tended to his injured partner. They were safe for the time being and they would stay put long enough for Duo to recover some. At least he thought so. Duo hadn't done this to himself. He hadn't self-destructed, like Heero had those months ago. He'd been caught because he'd tried to protect an innocent. It was noble. And it was stupid.  

That gave Heero pause. If Duo risking his life for anything was stupid, why was Heero so willing to throw his life away?  

 

_Somebody told me the wrong way_  

 

Heero remembered J telling him that external injuries were nothing compared to the mission. He would have to bleed to death before he could give up on the mission, but here was Duo, passed out, and the mission was put on hold. This couldn’t possibly be the right way to live… 

 

_What if I died?_  

 

Heero snorted. What a waste of time. If he died, J would just find another to replace him. He was a tool, as were the other pilots. Why didn't they act like it? 

 

He thought about Duo and how he'd saved that innocent bystander.  

That person would live. That person had a future now. He did something worthwhile, even if the mission had been scrapped for the time being. For Heero, however, the mission was everything. If he died without completing his objective...  

 

_What did I give?_  

 

Heero looked down in disgust at his sleeping partner and wished for the end of this war. He had unwillingly become attached to this reckless pilot who called himself ‘The God of Death.’ People like Duo, people that were innocent victims of the backlash of war did not deserve this kind of life. He'd learned about the circumstances surrounding Duo's recruitment. He wasn't born into it like Heero had been. He hadn't been groomed from day one to be a soldier. Duo had been a child with a family approximation once. He would have had the chance to grow up a normal kid had it not been for this war.  

Duo’s life had been taken from him because of it.  

It was for people like Duo that Heero realized he fought for. 

 

_I hope it was an answer so you might live_  

 

The disgust from earlier melted away. He ran a damp washcloth over Duo's forehead, wiping away some of the grime and dried blood that stuck to his skin. He was glad at that moment that he'd rescued Duo.  

 

_I hope I helped you live_  

 

He hoped that soon the war would be over and that if he died, it would be for the betterment of the world. For freedom. 

He looked down at Duo again and hoped that he'd make it through this war in one piece. He hoped he'd be there to help him again if there was ever need for it. He wanted to look back on these days, when he became obsolete as a weapon, and say to Duo: 

 

_I hope I helped you live_  

 

His brooding didn’t put him in such a good mood. He was sick of all the fighting. He was sick of living the way he was. Why couldn't it be over? 

“Heero?”  

Heero turned to the source of the weak voice. He locked eyes with Duo’s, keeping his face impassive. 

“Why do you do it? Why do you live your life by way of missions?” 

“Because…” Heero whispered, but his voice died in his throat. He couldn't look at Duo. The answer to that question; it was too painful.  

 

_Somebody told me the wrong way …… of life_  

 

Duo nodded and held out his hand. Heero took it, running his thumb against the back of Duo’s hand. He hadn't even realized he'd done it. Duo tugged at Heero's hand to get his attention, prompting Heero to look at him. Duo offered Heero a smile, and to his surprise, Heero smiled back. 


End file.
